Radiant Darkness: Beginning
by WinterFrost15
Summary: AU for the Fifth Doctor episode "Kinda." Tegan is trapped in the Dark Places of the Inside with the Mara, a kind and caring soul forced into hell by its own kind. The two must work together in order to save the lives of the Doctor, Nyssa, and Adric, who have been kidnapped and taken into the Mara's world. Will they succeed, or will they succumb to the darkness within themselves?


**Chapter One**

**Alone. . .Together**

_~Just a little note. This is told from the Mara's point of view. It's a new style I'm trying, since I've never really written a story from first person before, and in present tense to boot! So I hope that doesn't bother anyone too much. Also, this particular chapter was penned a few years ago, and I've only just begun to go back over it now. My point is that this section may be a bit awkward due to poor structuring skills (which I still have at times, regretfully). Just know that while this chapter may seem off a bit, the next one will probably get things more on track in the way of setting, plot, structure, etc. So. . .yeah. There you have it. Enjoy~ _

I try to slip away from the shadowy realm in which I dwell, search for the tender light of liberty that awaits me elsewhere. I slither through the dark places and the cold, lonely places, wandering through my poor world of woe and despair. I know that there is no hope of survival here for me. My soul grows weaker with the struggle of ancient age with every passing moment. My bones are feeble, my spirit edging ever closer towards oblivion, and sometimes I can even feel my mind ebbing away like sand against the tide.

I have been like this ever since the people of Deva Loka, the peaceful Kinda, banished me from their beautiful planet to this wicked place they call "The Dark Places of the Inside." I do not wholly understand this place. It is filled with strange, damp and wintry cold places, dry and blistering hot places. I do not enjoy being imprisoned like this in such a barbaric manner! How dare those primitive creatures defy the power of the great Mara!

I sigh, my forked tongue flickering out of my mouth in a somber manner. I know I mustn't think in this way. I am beginning to sound like one of _them_. One those true Maras from _my_ world, my home universe.

I despise them even more than I loathe this place. They are the reason for my being here. A few of my fellows had escaped through the minds of a group of those innocent, sweet, peace-loving Kinda, just for entertainment I suppose. To satisfy their hunger-ravaged stomachs with fright and suffering. I followed them closely. I knew what they were doing was wrong, and I had to stop it. But when I had caught up with their hideous, scaly hides I realized that it was too late.

The damage my siblings had inflicted on these poor creatures had been catastrophic. They had destroyed their homes and their crops, burned their sacred objects and slaughtered them like hogs in a pen. I looked on in pained silence, not knowing what I could possibly to do help. Not knowing if they would try and kill me like they had tried with the other Maras.

I kept my distance as the few surviving inhabitants crawled out from hiding. Some were gravely injured, others lying still and pale, dead I knew with a agonizing jolt of sorrow. I sent up silent prayers to the heavens, wishing the deceased to be brought safely to the after life, and hoped the very best for the rest of the tribe.

Soon I found I could no longer watch the Kinda suffer, to see them struggle through the dust and the soil, trying desperately to hold onto life. It made my heart break in my chest so badly that I was inclined to aid them. So, as not to scare them out of their wits even further, I appeared in their village as a young man, one of whom looked like one of the males in their tribe. I told them I saw what happened, that I wanted to help rebuild their tribe. I assured them that I meant no trouble, but some were suspicious.

"We have never seen you in the village," an elder had rasped in a strange, telepathic language. "Are you from a different tribe?"

"No," I had told him truthfully. "But where I come from does not matter, my wise friend. All I wish to do is assist you, and that I shall do."

"But if you are not from this tribe, or from any of the other tribes, then who are you?" the elder had insisted, and his leaf green eyes suddenly widened in horror as he had gazed at me. "You are a Mara! There is no other explanation! You have come to wipe out the rest of us, I am sure of it!"

I tried to calm him down, telling him again and again that I meant good for his people, but he refused to listen to me. His shouting had soon drawn an audience, and before I knew it I was lying in the forest, blood trickling down my forehead from a deep wound. I am not entirely sure what happened, but I know I must've been knocked unconscious, dragged out here and left for the birds, as it were. What surprised me most of all, however, was the Kindas' violence. Surely they had not done this to me? _But of course, _I realized. _They are frightened. Their way of life has been destroyed. They lashed out__, as any would in such tragedy. _

Regardless of this, I wished to return to the Kinda. But I knew that that would not be such a rational idea. If they _had_ done this to me, then I knew better than to evoke their newborn brutality even further. I did not wish for that, for myself or for them. . .

Suddenly, I feel something that awakes me from my reverie, something quite unlike the cold and bitter loneliness I am accustomed to here in the Dark Places of the Inside. I can feel it as strong as others' fears in my mouth, and it - this new beacon of light - is searching for escape just as I am. It is a female, and it is young and afraid.

I flick out my tongue to taste the air, feeling the other being here with me. I cannot tell who or what this new arrival may be. I know that it is unquestionably _not_ one of my own race. The aurora surrounding this organism smells much different. It is a sweet scent that lingers pleasantly in my nostrils, tickles my throat like the softest rose petals.

There is definitely another presence here with me. Oh, if only I could see the being with my own eyes, my eroding mind might not crumble from the stress that solitude and insanity have inflicted upon me! From what I can detect, this mysterious presence is somewhere very near, possibly only a few feet away from where I am situated.

I reach out gently and caress her mind. I'm not entirely certain why; perhaps I felt the need to comfort her, soothing her so that she did not have to feel the pain I have endured for centuries. Whatever the reason, I wanted her to feel at home with her new life here with me.

I take myself and travel quickly forwards through the murk, searching for that frightened woman. It takes a little while longer than I hope, but eventually I see the small, frail frame of the girl shuddering and weeping in the dark. She is rocking back and forth, her beautiful face framed in indescribable terror and light, curly brown hair. She is the most gorgeous female I have ever laid eyes on. She seems as innocent as an angel, yet I'm also aware that appearances can be rather deceptive, and so I take my next few steps with caution.

I do not want to frighten the poor girl even further, so I come to her in the form of a man. I am disguised as a rather handsome commoner, one I believe originated in a time period in planet Earth's history called the Middle Ages. The clothes feel strange on my human body; rubbing against my unusually smooth skin in a slightly uncomfortable manner. I swiftly decided that this does not matter. I am wearing also a long brownish-green tunic, a black cloak, a smoldering red jacket with frilled cuffs, blue trousers, and jet-black shoes that curve upwards into a point at the toe. I do not know why I chose this, perhaps to seem regal in appearance. I try not to worry about this too much, instead focusing on the woman before me.

I walk towards her softly. She does not hear me approach, and as not to startle her so terribly I place a soothing hand on her shoulder, and say pleasantly, "Hello there. Are you alright, miss?"

I see the young woman flinch away from my warm hand, as if putting it upon her shoulder has given her an electric shock. She is trembling as softly as a summer green leaf on a burgeoning oak tree. I know she is scared of me, but I smile at her, assuring that I mean no harm. _The poor thing,_ I think.

"What do you want with me?" she squeaks, sounding on the verge of sobbing. She rubs her shoulder with trembling fingers, turning away from me. "Please leave me alone."

"Do not fret," I say softly, placing a hand lightly against her shoulder. "It is alright." She will not look me in the eye. "How do you feel?"

"Awful," she croaks, her lips quivering with the effort of trying to remain calm. "I feel awful. What is this place?"

"It is known as the Dark Places of the Inside," I tell her gently. "Do you remember how you got here?"

A look of thoughtfulness possesses the young woman's anguished face, as if she is trying to retrieve some distant memory from deep within her troubled mind. I wait patiently for her response, not wishing to impose too many questions on her at the moment.

I watch as she opens her mouth, closes it, and opens it once more. No sound comes out, but I know she wants to say something. Finally, after she has had time to collect herself, she says in a sort of angry, hysterical cackle, "I haven't the faintest idea how I got in this hellhole, to be honest. I don't why that would interest you, either. Who are you?"

The woman rounds on me, her expression creasing with rage. I stand up and step a few paces away from her. I do not want to see her angry, or make her become upset with me. I can tell she is a wonderful woman already, only sensitive and scared. She knows how to take care of herself, and I know now that she is not afraid, deep down. "I am known as the Mara, born from a powerful race by the same name," I answer after a moment's silence. "I do not intend you any harm, Miss. . .forgive me, but what is your name?"

"Tegan," she replies firmly.

"Tegan," I repeat, the name rolling like sweet honey over my tongue. "What a beautiful name."

"Thank you," Tegan says, her face softening with surprise. "That's very. . .kind of you." She smiles at me - such a gorgeous smile, I note, one that reminds me of a sunbeam - and continues, "Where did you say I am? A place of dark insides?"

"Dark Places of the Inside," I correct her, sliding a little closer in her direction. "Yes, I am afraid. How did you get here, Tegan?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure. One moment I was with my friends in the forests of Deva Loka, and then suddenly I was nodding off by these chimes. And. . .I ended up here."

Tegan shrugs, seeming to feel helpless. Then she begins to shiver, and I lean forwards to listen to her now barely audible voice in the dark. "I saw these. . .creatures, while I was falling asleep," she breathes. "In my mind, I saw snake. . .very large snakes. They were coming for me, and. . .they wanted to kill me!" She flings herself on me, crushing my body in an enormous hug. I gasp with shock, hardly able to believe it.

After awhile I begin to feel pain. I moan, wishing that Tegan would stop hugging me, yet not wanting to hurt her feelings by telling her so. So I just wait for her shuddering and squeezing to cease, until she starts to come over her sense of fear. She is such an innocent angel that I am tempted to soothe her for the rest of time.

"Oh, sorry," she says after awhile, removing her thin, delicate arms from around my middle. "I didn't mean. . ." The delicate skin framing her face begins to blush bright crimson, and I laugh and hug her back equally as hard. Somehow I realize, despite our imprisonment here in the Dark Places of the Inside, that we will become the best of friends.

Or perhaps, we shall grow into something even more.

_more to come. . ._


End file.
